Finger splint



June 19, 1962 J. P. CHANDLER 3,039,460

FINGER SPLINT Filed May 29, 1959 INVENTOR.

JOHN F? CHAN DLER BY WWW ATTORNEYS Patented June 19, 1962 free outerlayer 36. The arcuate cut 20 in the outer layer is along one side of theelliptical area 24 from one end John P. Chandler, 121 Lincoln St.,Worcester, Mass. thereof to the other To prepilre the splin for me FiledMay 29, 1959, 816,781 area 24 of the outer layer 36 is pulled toward theedge 3 Claims (CL 12 until the sides 20, 22 of the aperture through theinner layer 34 substantially coincide whereupon the entire area 24overlaps an area 26 of equal size and shape on the easy and economicalto make, can be compactly packother side of the cut 20. The sticky faceof the area 24 aged, and which is adapted to support the finger in a isthen pressed against the area 26 to hold the splint in somewhat bentposition which is preferable to being the warped condition caused bydrawing the area 24 over straight. upon the area 26. The splint can thenbe applied to a It is an object of the invention to provide a simplesplint finger as indicated in FIGURE 1, and the straps are thenstructure which is flat when packaged for sale but can wrapped aroundthe finger to hold the splint firmly in easily be prepared for use inthe form of a curved place. trough adapted to receive and support afinger. A modified form of the invention is illustrated in For a morecomplete understanding of the invention, FIGURE 5. The longitudinallyarched trough 40' is reference may be had to the following descriptionthereof made by securing together along their concave edges two and tothe drawing, of which pieces 42 and 44 of sheet material each of whichis FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of a finger to which elongated withconcentric arcuate side edges one of which has been applied a splintembodying the invention; is concave, the other being convex. Stiifeningwires 46 FIGURE 2 is a section, on a larger scale, of the splint and 48extend along the convex edges of these pieces. shown in FIGURE 1; Anyconvenient number of straps 50 may be attached FIGURE 3 is a view of theouter face of a splint in to one or both convex edges of the splint toproject outthe flat condition before being adjusted to receive a wardtherefrom and be wrapped about a finger to which finger; the splint isapplied. When in flat form for packaging,

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a splint after it has the pieces 42and 44 lie flat on each other. been adjusted to receive a finger, and Il im;

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view of a modified form of 1, A finger splintcomprising a body consisting of two P layers of flexible fabricadhesively joined together face A Partially completed Splint in flatcondition for P to face, said layers having a contour with convex side gand pp is Shown in FIGURE This edges, flexible stiffening elements alongthe side edges of prises a y 10 having a contour With Convex Side edgessaid body, one of said layers having a central semi-ellip- 12 and 14.Flexible stiffening elements 16 and 18 such i l cut h h h f i a flap hih i adhesively as Wires eXtend along respective Side edges- The joinedto the adjoining area of said layer on the other y 10 has a Central,longitudinally extending, arcllate side of said cut, and adhesive strapsextending outward cut 20 therethrough which with a similar are 22symfrom a Side edge f Said body metrical thereto defines an area 24which is approxi- 2. An article to be made into a finger li mate lyellipt cal. On the lnner face of the area 24 is a prising a piece offlexible fabric having convex side edges, coatmg of smtable l lpreferably bl'lt.not,necessar fly flexible stiffening elements alongsaid side edges, a narrow i j i g For g m g 40 elliptical area ofadhesive coating centrally located on zg 22 21 58 i i g f g g 5:22 x 3said piece of fabric, the fabric being cut through along y r y r p oneside of said elliptical area from one end to the other consisting forexam le of a small iece of paper, sheet resin or the like g a glazedSuffice when the splint thereof, and a plurahty of adhesive straps proectlng outward from a side edge of said piece of fabric.

is to be com leted and ut to use, the cover piece is p p 3. An articleto be made into a finger splint, comstripped off to expose the adhesivearea 24, then this prising a fiat body with convex side edges made oftwo area is pulled past the cut 20 to overlap the outer area 26 adjacentto the cut and is pressed into adhesive contact layers of flexible sheetmaterial with tacky adhesive surfaces in mutual contact, flexiblestiffening elements with the area 26. This distorts the body 10 causingthe median line of the body to be concave outward so as to along id idedges f id bod one f id layers receive a finger 30 Which is Somewhatbent at the first having a central elliptical aperture exposing anadhesive joint as indicated in FIGURE 1. The margins of the area of thelayer, Said other layer having a cut h body 10 turn up to engage thesides of the fing and are through along one side of said ellipticalaperture from ltleld m g y g fi g g g g i i one end to the otherthereof, and a plurality of adhesive ooneoro sieegeso eoy an aveaacysurface. The Straps adhere to the finger when Wrapped straps pro ectlngoutward from a side edge of said body. around it and hold the splint inplace.

The splint body 10 may be a single layer of a flexible fabric or mayconveniently have two or more layers.

3,ll39,460 FINGER SPLINT The invention relates to a splint for a fingerwhich is References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATESPATENTS For example, the body 10 may be made by bringing to- 1,510,408Lychou Sept. 30, 1924 gether the tacky faces of two pieces 34 and 36 ofSur- 2,033,609 Budin Mar. 10, 1936 geons tape, a woven fabric having acoating of rubber- 2,165,668 Vaccaro July 11, 1939 resin,pressure-sensitive adhesive on one face. The pieces are similarly shapedwith convex side edges as indicated in FIGURE 3, and are of the propersize for the intended 5 use. Embedded in the side margins are wires 16and 18. A central aperture of approximately elliptical shape is cut inthe inner layer 34 exposing the adhesive area 24 of the OTHER REFERENCESV. Mueller and Co.: Apparatus for the Treatment of Fractures(catalogue), received in Patent Oflice Dec. 20, 1934, 4 pages, last pagerelied on. (Available in Division 55.)

